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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24295129">Relics</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/villainness/pseuds/villainness'>villainness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Fluff and Angst, Memories, Mild Hurt/Comfort, They're coping, Trauma</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:35:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,686</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24295129</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/villainness/pseuds/villainness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Adora and Catra stumble upon a Force Captain badge while revisiting after the war. The Fright Zone isn't quite the same anymore... and neither are they. </p><p> </p><p>More Catra and Adora coping with the past... and fluff about the future.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adora &amp; Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>175</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Relics</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Literally posting this right before going to work... enjoy some catradora hurt/comfort lmao</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Catra thought it was odd, seeing the Fright Zone like this. The Horde’s once mighty structures crumbled, whether from her fight with Hordak or from Horde Prime’s army she couldn’t tell. The buildings she once viewed as technologically sound and advanced were completely and utterly destroyed. Bits of metal lay strewn across the barren dirt and sand. But despite the destruction around them, sunlight touched every surface it could. It swirled around dark arches and filled the once shadowy corridors she remembered walking down alone in. The broken pieces were cast out in the light, much like the wounds Catra had hidden inside of her for so long. They were dark no more, all thanks to She-Ra.</p><p>Hmph. Thanks to She-Ra. The thought made her release a sound between a scoff and a giggle. Just a year ago, a thought like that would’ve been coated in resentment, in the anger and frustration she felt at herself, all projected on to her feelings for Adora. But now, she meant it. Thanks to She-Ra, she was free. She wasn’t trapped in her role as a Horde soldier, she felt no pressure to climb the ranks, to seek revenge. She was happy, now… mostly. Most of the time. Some of the time.</p><p>Frowning, she shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. Her guilt still clawed at her in the back of her mind, threatening to lead her down another self destructive path. Being back here wasn’t helping. If she looked at the ruins at just the right angle, she could clearly envision those long dark corridors. It sent shivers up her spine, reminding her of the tension she had held in her spine when she was alone. Especially when Scorpia had left. Those last days in the Horde, all by herself… She shuddered and tried to push down her resurfacing emotions. </p><p>Catra tore herself away from her thoughts and turned away from the ruins to look at Adora. She smiled at the way she hunched over a pile of metal, digging through them as if she’d actually find something worthwhile. She had taken off her red jacket in the heat, giving Catra a view of her white shirt hugging the form of her toned back. She shifted her focus to that, and slowly crept up behind her.</p><p>“There’s gotta be something interesting in here,” Adora muttered, tossing the useless bits of metal aside. Catra didn’t know what she was looking for at this point. The Fright Zone was mostly abandoned now. In its destruction, many of its inhabitants and former soldiers had fled to the Crimson Waste, or to explore one of Etheria’s many kingdoms in a new light. As far as Catra knew, no one was here anymore. But still, Adora insisted they come back. Something about wanting to find something to recover. Something to rebuild. </p><p>“There’s nothing here, Adora! Can’t we go home? It’s hot out here,” Catra jumped up on Adora’s back, her legs curling around Adora’s chest to hold her in place while her arms flailed in front of Adora’s vision. Adora grunted and stumbled back, straightening from her hunched position to keep the two of them from falling face first into the rubble.</p><p>“Catra!” Catra laughed and let her legs hit the floor. She kept her arms around Adora’s waist instead. </p><p>“Seriously, what did you think you were going to find? We already saw there was nothing left of this place last time we wrecked it.” Her spine tingled at the memory of Glimmer saving her from Mermista’s rising tides.</p><p>Adora didn’t respond. Instead, she gently shrugged Catra’s hands away and crouched back again. Catra leaned forward as well, on her toes to catch a sight of whatever had taken Adora’s attention off her.</p><p>Between the bars of a cracked metal grate, Catra spotted the faint green gleam of a Force Captain badge. She wouldn’t have noticed it if Adora hadn’t seen it first. The dirt and dust obscured it in a gray-brown haze that she surely would have overlooked.</p><p>Catra watched as Adora flipped her sword, using the hilt to pry the grate’s bars further apart. The weak metal crumbled easily, its shards falling deeper into the whole to join the dust .</p><p>“It’s okay, Adora. We don’t need it. It’s not important anymore.” She eyed the badge wearily, it’s green gleam reflecting as the sun peeked out of a cloud and onto it. It wasn’t her badge, but it brought the memories back all the same. It was more likely that one of the other Force Captain’s had shed the badge on their way out leaving the Fright Zone, seeking freedom anywhere else in Etheria as they went on their own journey in defecting the Horde. Or more specifically, Horde Prime. </p><p>Adora picked it up gingerly, dusting it off with her pale fingers. She was no doubt having her own stroll down memory lane with her own memories regarding that badge. How it used to be all she wanted of life, how she felt when Shadow Weaver finally promoted her, how she felt when she left the Horde leaving Catra as Force Captain instead… and maybe even how she was proud to wear it for that short time after the portal had altered their reality.</p><p>Adora peeled her eyes away from the grate and pocketed the badge. </p><p>“You’re taking it?!” Catra arched her eyebrows, confused and off put at the idea of such a relic coming back to Bright Moon with them. “Why? We both hated this place. Hated becoming a Force Captain, in the end. Why the hell would you want to bring it with us? Can’t we just... leave this whole place in the past?”</p><p>Her eyebrows were knit with concern. Both of them knew coming back to the Fright Zone would bring back unwanted memories. Of their childhood growing up under the threat of Shadow Weaver, or of their own fights between each other when they were on other sides of the war.</p><p>“We can’t just ignore this place, Catra. It’s still part of Etheria. It’s… part of us.” Adora stepped forward, closer to Catra. Catra just stared blankly at the outline of the badge in Adora’s pocket.</p><p>“It’s not exactly a part I’m proud of.” Catra muttered under her breath. She sat down and brought her knees to her chest. She felt Adora kneel down beside her, then cross her legs so the two were side by side, looking out at the rubble of the Fright Zone.</p><p>“Why do you have to take it, though? I get it, we have to ‘face our most feared selves’ or whatever Perfuma says, but… isn’t that enough? Do we really need that physical reminder haunting us?” Catra wanted to reach into Adora’s pocket and crush the badge between her claws, to rid herself of who she used to be when she had adorned it. That volatile, self-destructive, chaotic part of herself that she wished with all her heart she wasn’t.</p><p>“I don’t know. It feels important. I guess… I don’t want to forget it. Shadow Weaver’s gone, the Horde’s gone, the Fright Zone is destroyed and will probably be reclaimed by Scorpia and her kingdom… there’s nothing left to remember where we came from.”</p><p>Catra rolled her eyes. She was such a princess. So sentimental. </p><p>“I don’t get why you want to remember. I’m glad Shadow Weaver is gone.” Catra’s mouth filled of a bitter taste, but there was a pang in her heart. She had saved them in the end. It wasn’t enough to make her forgive her, but her “I’m proud of you,” rang in her ears.</p><p>Catra felt Adora place her fingers atop hers. She unclenched her fist, slightly, allowing Adora to sink her fingers into her hand. They clasped each other tightly.</p><p>“It’s part of our story, like it or not.” Adora’s voice was soft. It was coated with her own hurt towards Shadow Weaver, but somehow she had managed to take a positive spin on it. “She… what she did to us, it pushed us together. Made us closer.” </p><p>Catra turned to watch her face. Adora closed her eyes, and let her thumb stroke the fingers she held so dearly. “I hate what she did. To you, to me, to both of us. I don’t think I’ll ever forgive her. But to forget about her, to forget about the Horde and everything we came from, feels like I’m choosing to forget a part of us.”</p><p>Catra knew she was right. Choosing to forget all that pain… It reminded her too much of her time with Horde Prime. When he…</p><p>Adora sensed the connection Catra made. Her hand pulled away from hers, and instead began to stroke the nape of her neck, between the ends of her short hair and the fuzz on her back. The back and forth motion she made, gently petting her where the chip once sat calmed her. She was no longer his. She was no longer what Shadow Weaver thought she was. She was herself, and she was Adora’s. </p><p> </p><p>Catra pushed her back deeper into Adora’s form. She looked out at the ruins of the Fright Zone. This had been their home. But now, home was wherever Adora was. She was no longer remembering, but imagining.</p><p>“This isn’t the Fright Zone anymore,” she let out. “When Scorpia eventually takes this back… think we’ll visit?” She tried to imagine what that would be like. She hoped she could come back and see this land in a different way. No longer shrouded with the pained memories of their childhood serving the Horde, but an appreciation for their past, and a hope for its inhabitants future.</p><p>“We’ll have to, I suppose. She’d have a coronation, probably. And Princess Prom is bound to happen here one day.” Adora laughed, looking Catra in the eyes. “And this time, you’ll be my date. And we’ll make new memories, right here, okay?”</p><p>Adora stood, and reached her hand down. Catra grabbed it, and let herself be pulled to her feet.</p><p>“Alright, Adora,” she smiled back. “I promise.”</p>
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